All posts tagged hedgerows

I don’t need to tell you how rainy it’s been for the last, ooh, forever. This has meant I haven’t been out in the garden as much as I like. I’m gutted! All those plans I had for barbecues, picnics, lounging around drinking Pimms and G and Ts…have obviously still gone ahead, but indoor Pimms just isn’t the same, is it? Meh.

So the garden is in a bit of a state and my weeding hasn’t been as dedicated as it might have been. In fact, I haven’t weeded at all for rather a long time. And in that time, the garden has been taken over by some truly beautiful wildflowers. I’m delighted!

Campanula

This campanula looks stunning growing up into the ivy hedge. It runs all the way along a Devon bank, and has put on a fantastic display this year. I know lots of people aren’t fond of campanula because it’s really hard to eradicate and so vigorous that it overtakes a lot of other plants. But to be honest, there’s so much space to cover in our garden, that I’m just glad it’s there to compete with the Ivy!

Welsh Poppies

Welsh Poppies are springing up everywhere too – which is rather intriguing as last year, we didn’t have any at all. Perhaps the wet weather has really helped them thrive. I’m pleased because it’s quite difficult to get these dainty little plants to establish, but once they do, they seed themselves quite happily year after year. Note the foxglove growing in between the rocks in the background – I think this will make a lovely pairing and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together!

Herb Robert or ‘Stinkbob’

Herb Robert is a ‘marmite’ wildflower, I think. You can recognise it by the dark red stems and musky, herby smell that people either love or hate! No wonder the nickname for this plant is ‘stink bob’. I love the smell – it’s fresh and reminds me of walks in the woods. I bought a couple of tiny plants from Rosemoor Garden, just up the road from us, and planted them into one of our Devon banks. Since then, the plants have exploded and covered a tremendous amount of ground with frothy leaves and dainty pink flowers. They look so pretty mixed in with other woodland or hedgerow plants like white or pink campion.

Ferns and Foxgloves make a lovely pairing

This is another lovely pairing that is working well in soggy, shady weather. Ferns and foxgloves don’t need huge amounts of light and work well in our Devon banks, hedgerows and under trees. The fronds of the ferns really complement the tall spires of the foxgloves, and together give some great height and interest to borders.

So despite my fears, it seems that the garden is thriving. It might even be a good excuse never to weed again! I’ll definitely be sowing some wildflower seeds and encouraging more native planting in my garden in future.